Trains expected to give businesses a head of steam

South Shore business owners have high hopes that tens of thousands of train passengers will stop and shop before and after they ride along the much-anticipated Greenbush line.

Kristen Walsh

South Shore business owners have high hopes that tens of thousands of train passengers will stop and shop before and after they ride along the much-anticipated Greenbush line.

With those hopes has come economic development, including new and refurbished businesses from Scituate to Braintree. Prices of properties directly along the train route, as well as in nearby town centers and smaller shopping business districts, have risen as developers have sought to capitalize on the expected influx of commuters.

‘‘I think there will be an immediate impact,’’ said Joe Curran, who is developing a condo complex in East Braintree. ‘‘People have been waiting a while for the convenience of taking the train.’’

Others say it is too soon to predict how Greenbush will affect the local economy - and whether consumers will be lured in or turned off by the trains.

‘‘People want to see what it will be like when the trains are running, and what it will be like in terms of noise,’’ said Mary McCready, a Hingham-based real estate agent.

Weymouth Landing, along the Weymouth-Braintree line, has been a hotbed of Greenbush-related development. Several new stores have opened, joining a host of longstanding restaurants and businesses to alter the Landing’s feel.

Earlier this year, a Boston-based realty group owned by Ted Ahern and Peter McLoughlin paid more than $1 million to buy the former Marion’s Shoe building on Commercial Street.

The Marion’s building has been reconfigured into eight storefronts.

Susan Czemmel, the owner of Woof and Whimsy in Weymouth, is one of the new tenants.

She said the Greenbush line was a major reason she chose the location, and is expecting new clients when the train starts running.

In the train’s first week, Czemmel plans to stay open later and decorate the outside of the store to make it more welcoming for new customers.

‘‘My business is doing well, and the commuter rail hasn’t even started yet. Once it does, and people see that there is a lot of parking available in the area, I think it will just be gravy,’’ she said.

Curran, owner of Brite-Lite Electric on Front Street in Weymouth, is building a 10-unit condo development on Brookside Drive in Braintree within walking distance of the Weymouth Landing/East Braintree train station. He expects his project to be done by spring.

Curran said the changes are positive for the South Shore.

‘‘There’s a lot going on. Some of it has been spawned by the train, and I think the Landing has a great opportunity to go through a sort of renaissance,’’ he said. ‘‘Over the next year or two years, it will be a nice area for people to live and commute from.’’

Curran said Weymouth officials have been more concerned with the train line’s construction than economic development. But he hopes that will change.

‘‘I think they’ll fill the train up really quickly and there will be an increase of people in the areas, both in foot traffic and drivers,’’ Curran said.

Mary McCready, who manages the Jack Conway Realtor office in Hingham, said the South Shore has yet to see the complete impact of the trains on both residential and commercial development.

‘‘Downtown Hingham has been under construction, so that has been more of a negative impact,’’ McCready said. ‘‘But because the train tunnel runs directly under the center, there will be very little impact on the stores and businesses.’’

Home prices have risen in Hingham, Cohasset and Scituate - all considered prime commuting locations to Boston, especially with the Greenbush train. But, of late, the pace of home sales in the area has decreased significantly, as it has nationwide, said McCready.

Jack Conway’s commercial division has been hurt by construction-related disruptions in downtown Hingham, said McCready. But she said that’s temporary, predicting great sales.

‘‘With the development at the Hingham waterfront and the end of construction, I think we’re going to see a whole new area of business. I think it will be booming,’’ she said.